Disney is currently navigating the extreme highs and lows of the box office, showcasing a stark contrast in performance between its major releases. While the animated sequel “Zootopia 2” has returned to the No. 1 spot in North America in its third weekend and has sprinted past the $1 billion mark globally, the political dramedy “Ella McCay” faced a devastating debut, grossing only $2.1 million domestically, marking one of the worst openings for Disney in modern times.

“Zootopia 2” has emerged as a monumental success for Disney, officially becoming the highest-grossing Hollywood release of the year. After just 20 days in release, its global earnings have reached a staggering $1.13 billion, surpassing Disney’s live-action “Lilo & Stitch” remake ($1.03 billion). The film crossed the $1 billion threshold in just 17 days, making it the quickest PG film to achieve this milestone. It now stands as the seventh-biggest animated film in history, outperforming the original 2016 “Zootopia” ($1.025 billion) and last year’s “Moana 2” ($1.06 billion). Over its third weekend, “Zootopia 2” added $131.1 million from 52 territories, boosting its overseas tally to $877 million, and is poised to become only the second animated movie to cross $1 billion internationally, following “Inside Out 2.” Its performance in China has been particularly massive, with $502 million and counting, ranking behind only 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame” as the largest MPA release in the country, a notable achievement given the general disinterest of Chinese audiences in Hollywood fare in recent years.

In stark contrast, “Ella McCay,” written and directed by James L. Brooks, the co-creator of “The Simpsons,” cemented the wrong kind of records for the studio. The film’s $2.1 million domestic debut fell far short of already low projections of $4 million. With a production budget of $35 million, significantly less than Disney’s typical $200 million-plus for theatrical releases, “Ella McCay” is not expected to turn a profit and has only managed a paltry $2.4 million globally, including a meager $300,000 from five international territories. The film, a comedic drama about a young politician becoming governor, was roundly rejected by critics (a 24% Rotten Tomatoes average) and moviegoers (a “B-” grade on CinemaScore exit polls). This continues a disappointing box office run for Brooks, whose previous films “Spanglish” (2004) and “How Do You Know?” (2010) also underperformed. Analysts note that mid-budget films like “Ella McCay” struggle in today’s market as audiences increasingly find similar content on television and social media.

Other notable performances at the box office include Universal and Blumhouse’s horror sequel “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” which slid to second place with $19.5 million in its second weekend. Despite a brutal 70% drop from its debut, its $36 million budget makes its current $95 million domestic and $173 million global gross an undisputed win for Blumhouse. “Wicked: For Good” remained at No. 3 with $8.5 million in its fourth weekend, bringing its totals to $312 million domestically and $467 million globally, though it appears to be losing momentum faster than its predecessor, 2024’s “Wicked.” In the specialty market, Chloe Zhao’s “Hamnet,” a well-reviewed tragedy starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, amassed $1.5 million from 749 venues, bringing its total to $7 million.

Globally, the biggest release of 2025 remains China’s animated blockbuster “Ne Zha 2” with $1.9 billion. Overall ticket sales after this mixed weekend sit at $8.1 billion, only 0.5% ahead of last year and 22.7% behind 2019, according to Comscore. However, cinemas anticipate a significant boost from upcoming holiday offerings, including James Cameron’s epic “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” Paramount’s “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants,” Lionsgate thriller “The Housemaid” (all on Dec. 19), as well as A24’s “Marty Supreme,” Focus Features’ “Song Sung Blue,” and Sony’s “Anaconda” (all on Christmas Day). Disney’s own “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” opening in December, is expected to end the studio’s year on a high note and could potentially contend for the 2025 crown, although the majority of its earnings will likely fall into the following calendar year.